Point Break (1991)

I guess it's Kathryn Bigelow day!

Point Break is probably the closest thing to an adrenaline junkie movie I've seen. When the tagline is "100% Adrenaline," they aren't joking! Surfing, skydiving, and bank robbing all in the same film! Patrick Swayze plays it cool as usual, while Keanu Reeves gives a highly entertaining (it's Keanu Reeves!) performance as an undercover F-B-I AGENT. This is a must see film. The action and style are heightened to unbelievable (possibly unprecedented?) levels! Despite being released during the High Eighties, I would argue that this is one of the earliest distinctly 90s movies. Bigelow's Point Break is an action masterpiece, especially compared with the other films of hers I have seen, Strange Days (1995) and Near Dark (1987).

8/10

Strange Days (1995)

Kathryn Bigelow directs this Cameron-penned vehicle that aims for high concept but ultimately fails. Cameron's influence is painfully obvious: the film has clunky dialogue, runs for two and a half hours, and gets lost amidst its layers of plots. Every line Angela Bassett delivers is said with such a demanding conviction that I eventually thought she could not act otherwise. Juliette Lewis is painful to watch. Ralph Fiennes does as well as he can to hold the film together, but while the film is a visual feast, it's not enough to make up for the film's other problems. This film, like Bigelow's Near Dark (1987), has a great concept but fails in the execution.

6/10